Japan Lower House OKs Bill to Ratify New TPP

May 18, 2018

Tokyo- The House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, passed on Friday a bill to ratify the new Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact among 11 countries, excluding the United States.

After being endorsed by the Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier in the day, the ratification was approved at a plenary meeting of the full chamber by a majority vote with support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner, Komeito, as well as Nippon Ishin no Kai and the Party of Hope.

The bill was sent immediately to the House of Councillors, the upper chamber. Even without a vote by the Upper House, the Constitution allows it to be enacted automatically after 30 days, or before the June 20 end of the ongoing regular session of the Diet.

The 11 TPP members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the original 12-nation TPP in early 2017.

The ruling coalition also aims to get TPP-related bills enacted by the session end, including legislation on support for cattle farmers who are expected to face tougher competition from overseas rivals after tariff cuts under the pact.

The Lower House Cabinet Committee was set to vote on the TPP-related bills on Friday as well, but this was blocked by a no-confidence motion submitted by opposition parties against Economic Revitalization Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, in charge of the TPP.

The ruling bloc is set to vote down the motion at a Lower House plenary meeting on Tuesday.

The ruling parties also intend to accelerate their efforts to enact other important bills before the Diet adjourns.

The LDP and Komeito also plan to launch parliamentary deliberations Tuesday on a bill on the operations of casino-featuring integrated resorts.

Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi, speaking at a general meeting of its Upper House members, stressed, "Enacting bills important to people's lives is a crucial mission of the ruling coalition."

Meanwhile, Tetsuro Fukuyama, secretary-general of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, argued at a party meeting that the ruling bloc should avoid coercively pushing ahead with parliamentary debates and "face the public sincerely."

"They will not be able to win support from the public if they railroad legislation through the Diet," he said.. Jiji Press